1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a container and liquid dispensing apparatus and method of application thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In churches, communion is served monthly or even weekly. Each communion receptacle is usually filled with 32 or more small individual cups. For centuries, liquid has been poured manually from a container into each cup one by one. Therefore, a considerable amount of time is consumed to arrange orderly, filled-up cups and the preparation process is extremely tiresome. A speeded process for arranging a desired number of containers and filling up the arranged containers with beverage would not only be helpful in churches, but would also be beneficial in large ceremonies such as other religious services, social gatherings, weddings, meetings, conferences and sports events where multiple containers are to be filled up simultaneously.
It is apparent that manual handling of elements represents a severe limitation in the efficiency of such processes. In the past few decades, numerous methods have been tried unsuccessfully to devise a way to fill receptacles of cups quickly and to pour liquid into the cups quickly. A wide variety of container dispensing apparatus and liquid dispensing apparatus have been designed in the past.
Numerous patents that have been issued in the past few decades and that are focused on various versions of container dispensing apparatus are:
Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,048, issued on Jun. 18, 1991, patents an apparatus for dispensing individual containers from a nested stack of containers. The apparatus comprises a first extendable arm for holding the stack of containers in an elevated position within a hollow column adapted to hold the stack of containers vertical, a second extendable arm for wedging the stack of containers, with the exception of the bottom container in the stack against the side of the column and a third extendable arm for contacting the bottom container in the stack to cause the bottom container to separate from the stack and fall.
Bartfield et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,073, registered on Oct. 21, 1986, discuss a cup dispensing apparatus for housing a plurality of stacks of nested cups positioned side-by-side and including a dispensing device to sequentially dispense cups from one of the stacks in a dispensing column. The cups are sequentially advanced by using a pair of helical feed coils. A support in the form of a pivotable platform is provided below the dispensing column.
Brosseit, U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,986, issued on Apr. 1, 1969, patent a dispensing mechanism having an article distributing cylinder that is provided with a circumferentially arranged group of internal bores. The article distributing cylinder is indexed about its axis for receiving a succession of pneumatically conveyed articles. The articles are discharged in sequence from longitudinally spaced portions of the cylinder by means of radial passages extending from the bores to the cylinder periphery.
Christine et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,407, issued on Jan. 7, 1969, patent a cup depositor assembly for depositing cups one at a time from a stack of cups. The cups are adapted to be placed in openings in a moving conveyor of a packaging machine.
Some of the above patents, along with numerous other patents that have been reviewed, are being used for dispensing containers. However, many patents that have been reviewed protect relatively complicated structures.
One group of the previously designed liquid dispensing apparatus, that more closely resemble the present invention, has been categorized as beverage dispensing apparatus. A common problem with beverage dispensing apparatus is a need for assemblage and disassemblage each time that the beverage dispensing apparatus is used. Usually in the beverage dispensing apparatus that more closely resemble the present invention, if instructions are not accurately followed, the unit would malfunction. Such beverage dispensing apparatus usually have small drain holes that clog easily with sediment.
A group of patents that have been issued and many other similar inventions that have been developed in the beverage industry, some of which still exist in the market, are relatively complicated. These patents and innovations in the market have been relatively complicated, including faucets, valves, metering and timing devices, gas pressure sources and beverage coolers, to name a few. Several such patents that have been issued in the past few decades and are focused on numerous versions of beverage dispensing apparatus follow:
Greer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,377, issued on Apr. 23, 1985, patents a beverage dispensing apparatus for filling numerous containers that are located proximate to a walk-in beverage cooler.
Leas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,701, registered on Oct. 30, 1973, discuss a liquid dispensing system that includes a plurality of receptacles connected in series one to another between a gas pressure source and a dispensing faucet.
Kontra et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,629, issued on Apr. 30, 1968, patent an automatic beverage dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of faucets. Each faucet includes a valve. An electronic metering and timing operator is connected to a solenoid which is attached to and operatively secured to the valve.
Another interesting patent that presents a liquid dispensing apparatus is U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,378, by Dunham, issued on Mar. 3, 1992. A communion cup filler is described that comprises a rectangular, angled central panel with a number of conduits each leading to a drain hole. The top of the central panel supports retaining walls on all 4 sides.
However, the present invention strives towards presenting a simple, inexpensive and easily manufacturable and transportable container and liquid dispensing apparatus that can be used ensemble as one unit even though a physical connection between the container dispensing apparatus and the liquid dispensing apparatus is not necessarily required as shown in FIG. 1.